This is my desk at my Gatehouse, at about three o’clock in the morning. Aside from my regular day schedule, I’ve been also working the graveyard shift from midnight to six in the morning. This is all in my efforts to bank the money to have my novel self published.

Story Of A Novel

Chapter 1

By Richard Mabey Jr.

“Nothing worthwhile, comes easy,” is an expression that my dad told me at least a hundred and one times. I’m incredibly bullheaded and never really take “no” for an answer. There is a fire in me, a furious fire that burns in the very core of the chambers of my heart. What fuels that fire is my single-minded focus to see my novel become published.

I’m not holding myself in the same ranks as Earl Hamner Jr., Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, Rod Serling and John Steinbech. But I know, deep in my heart that I’ve got something worthwhile to share with the world.

I’ve given up on traditional publishing houses. Not only do they only want established writers, it seems that in this modern world, book publishers only want to publish books written by celebrities and famous politicians.

The other night, I was moonlighting additional hours at my Gate Guard job. I was exhausted. There are very few cars that come through the Gatehouse at three in the morning, so I brought something to read for the wee hours of the night. And, I brought along an old Mad magazine from September of 1964.

September of 1964 was the moment in time that I began the Sixth Grade. Mr. Yurgolese was my teacher. Other than my gym teacher, he was the first male teacher that I ever had. This was also the moment in time when I joined Boy Scout Troop 170. This was also about this era when I expanded my intellectual horizons and began buying Mad magazines at dear old Moe’s Sweet Shop.

I used to stash Mad magazines in my knapsack, to read by the light of my trusty flashlight at the Boy Scout Camporees. I remember the big week-long hike along the Appalachian Trail. You had trim line your pack to the bare essentials, so as not to way yourself down to much. Of course, I carried along a couple of Mad magazines to read before falling asleep beneath the branches of the pine, the elm, the oak and the maple.

So, the other night, during the wee hours of the night, when I was tired beyond tired, I found comfort in reading one of my old Mad magazines. It brought back to me that feeling of being a young boy. Sitting there at my desk, inside my Gatehouse, I could almost smell that unique musty odor of old canvas. Somehow and someway, that old Mad magazine brought me back to my early scouting days, reading the latest Mad magazine by the light of my good old flashlight.

The road to the accomplishment of any worthwhile goal is tough. It’s paved with rocks, mud, snakes, spiders and fallen trees that block the path. You often find yourself walking alone in the pouring rain. At times there’s even thunder and lightning to put a bit of scare into your heart. But the key to successfully attaining any long-range goal is simply this: never give up! Never give up!

People say to me, “you haven’t gotten your novel published yet? If I were you, I would have given up a long time ago!”

I want to say so badly, “well, I’m not you, you big fool! And, I just ain’t gonna give up, ever!” But, alas, my mom and dad raised me to be a gentleman.

As a boy, I did my share of mountain climbing. In scouts, I climbed the hills and mountains of the Appalachian Trail. Then as a boy, back in my old hometown, I often climbed the rugged and ragged cliff edges of the famous Hook Mountain, with my good friend Stuart. One thing that I learned about mountain climbing is simply this: never look down!

I never look down, I don’t look back, I don’t harbor regrets. I keep my eyes focused on the bull’s eye goal to see my novel published. Nothing is ever going to stop me from reaching this goal. I’ll walk on broken glass, I’ll walk on hot charcoal, and I’ll walk across a scorching hot desert. I’ll even work long, long hours through the moon-lit night, to bank the dough to pay for my novel to be published.